FEATURES
Know Your Costs to Grow
A new tool helps vegetable farmers determine which crops make sense financially
BY ANNE & ERIC NORDELL
There’s Compost, and Then There’s Compost
Residues from pesticides and antibiotics can wreak havoc on your compost; testing it is vital
BY MATT POWERS.
The Vortex of Health
Structured water in theory and practice
BY STEVE DIVER
Hide It Under a Bushel?
Letting light shine into a plant’s lower canopy can turn shaded growth into a saleable yield
BY CRAIG HARTSOUGH
Conducting the Eco-orchestra
Ecological pest and disease control forces us to be ecosystem designers, actively participating in living systems
BY MARK SHEPARD
A Multiplicity of Microbes
Plant diversity leads to microbial diversity, which leads to ecosystem functionality
BY JAY FUHRER
DEPARTMENTS
VIEW FROM THE COUNTRY
Monthly musings from Acres U.S.A.’s editor
OPINION
Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Organic
Without fundamental reform of the USDA Organic Program, family farms will continue to sink, while fraud flourishes
BY MARK KASTEL
ECO-UPDATE
News in brief on developments in agronomic science
REGEN AGRONOMY
Compost-poning the Fertility
Separating soil-building decisions from fertility management helps vegetable growers avoid nutrient excesses that weaken crops and invite pest pressure
BY KATIE MEYER
INTERVIEW
No-Till? No Thanks
Organic pioneer Eliot Coleman defends intelligent tillage and green manures as tools for building and sustaining fertility
REVIEWS
ECO-GRAPHIC
ECO-Meeting
